We're Getting a FREE 16' x 8' Shed -- HELLO Chicken Coop!

[GreyhoundGuy]

My wife and I are getting a free 16' x 8' Shed for a coworker's family member. We are looking forward to turning it into a larger coop that will accommodate a few more chickens. (We're down to three hens after losing two hens to an apparent hawk attack.)

The shed has double doors on both 8' ends, so there will be PLENTY of ways to access the hens and supplies. The bummer is that it doesn't have ventilation, so that'll be a priority as we set it up. My thought is to have windows on both sides, as well as the ability to open both sets of doors without endangering any hens.

We're also planning on building a nice covered run that will be attached to the coop... not quite sure how yet, but we know it'll be big enough for us to walk into for cleaning, care, etc.

Here's a question though... we know that 16' x 8' is HUGE! What would you do with the space inside (knowing that we only want a max of 10-12 hens)? How would you design the interior?

Thanks in advance.

-Joel

 

[blackdog043]

When chicken math sets in, 16 x 8 won't be so big anymore
Pictures of the shed will help a lot with advise, for your interior set up. Also if you add your general location to your profile, it will help with other questions, such as ventilation. Below are pics of my 8 x 12 lean to shed/coop interior. I currently have 11 chickens in there.

 

[sylviethecochin]

What do you want to do? Just laying hens? Or maybe you want to expand to a few bunnies or quail? Are you an X-treme hobby-farmer or are you just dabbling in chickens?

Do you want to set up a separate brooder so that you don't have to deal with the smell inside your house?

Do you already have a really convenient place to store chicken paraphernalia, or would half of this shed make a really convenient feed/bedding/cleaning/medication storage area? There's no reason you can't divide the shed in half with plywood or hardware cloth.

Whatever you do, have fun!

 

[GreyhoundGuy]

If you add your general location to your profile, it will help with other questions, such as ventilation.

We are in central Texas, just outside Austin. Winter temps are comfortable. Summer temps get hot.

And thanks for the heads-up to add my location. I went into my profile and added our city and state.

What do you want to do? Just laying hens? Or maybe you want to expand to a few bunnies or quail? Are you an X-treme hobby-farmer or are you just dabbling in chickens?

Do you want to set up a separate brooder so that you don't have to deal with the smell inside your house?

Do you already have a really convenient place to store chicken paraphernalia, or would half of this shed make a really convenient feed/bedding/cleaning/medication storage area? There's no reason you can't divide the shed in half with plywood or hardware cloth.

We live on 3/4 acres, so we're not going to be expanding into extreme farming or anything like that. We're just dabbling in chickens, specifically laying hens. (No roosters and multitude of chicks here, please.) We have a two and a half year old daughter who helps with the hens we have, and I love that she's learning the responsibilities of taking care of animals. This will no double continue when we have more hens.

We like the idea of setting up storage areas inside for bedding, food, etc. I was thinking that we could setup a dividing wall / door inside the coop to divide the space so that we had room for supplies, some bird feed materials, etc.

Thanks to both of you for helping to get us on track. I love this forum! Everyone is always so helpful!

Have a great night!

 

[CorvusFarm]

I built a 12'x12' shed that also had no windows or venting. As I've built out the adjacent 2400-square-foot run, I've modified the coop quite a bit. I kept it simple. I leave the front double doors open during the day, which gives them plenty of light and ventilation. I used a 3" circular bit and drilled out vents above the doors on the front, and also along the roof line in the back. There are 8 vents front and back, each vent centered in the middle of the vertical sideboards. Then on the sides of the coop, I put in 4"x8" vents top and bottom, two under the eaves per side, and 2 along the floor line. That is ok for a handful of chickens and ducks, but now that they're inhabiting it, I can see that I'll need a lot more ventilation when the my brooding chicks (17) are moved out full time. As the temperatures warm up, I'm considering taking off one of the front doors and rebuilding it as a screen door (framed out and using hardware cloth for predator protection.

The building plans came with a loft space, and I simply left that out so that the open rafters became chicken roosts. They love being up that high at night. Congrats on the new building! They'll love it, and so will you.